High School Troubles
by ChanelVogue
Summary: “WHAT?” Isha’s voice rang out. She went up to the teacher and slammed her hands on his desk, glaring at him heatedly. “That’s worse than letting go of my topic!” “Riley, you can’t seriously expect me to work with this wench,” Kai growled.“Guys, no swearin
1. New Girl on the block

**Dragon**: Hey peoplez! I know I took a very long time to update but I had to make some changes to this storie and I was just so damn lazy. Lolz, but anyways, here it is, the new and revised version. I hope you like this one even better.

**-O-**

Isha woke up with a start. She glanced over to the alarm clock beside her and saw 8:45 written in a digital way. _Oh shit! I'm late for school! And today was supposed to be my first day_, she thought. She quickly ran in her bathroom, brushed her teeth and took a quick shower. She came out and wore black cargo pants and a black tank top which said He broke my heart so I broke his jaw! She quickly took out her skateboard. Isha ran downstairs and locked the door. Then off she went unaware of two pairs of eyes watching her as soon as she came outside.

**-O-**

Kai and his best friend Tala watched amusingly as the girl in front of them locked the door and skateboarded to school. They had never seen her before. Kai looked at Tala which an evil grin. Noticing this grin, Tala smirked and shook his head.

"You never change, do you?" Tala asked smirking. Kai smirked in return and shook his head. They got into Kai's car and rode to school. They blasted the music in the car to full volume and rode off. As they reached the school, Kai parked the car in the parking lot and both got out. They could see the rest of their group. Meet the Scorpions. TheScorpions consisted of Kai, Tala, Ray, Michael and Johnny. These guys were the biggest players in the school.

"Have you heard about the new chick?" Michael asked playing with his baseball. They all nodded in return.

"According to the rumors, she really is supposed to be hot," Ray added smiling smugly.

Then, the bell rang. Kai, Tala and Ray went to their homeroom as they were in the same class and Michael and Johnny went into theirs. Kai, Tala and Ray went to the back row and sat on their seats as they saw students filing in. At last the teacher came in with a girl Tala and Kai saw this morning. She had ravened black hair that went up to her waist with cinammon in them. Her eyes were lightbrown color with a little hint of green and were simply gorgeous. At her sight, practically all the boys started drooling and seeing this, the girls started glaring at her but she just ignored them like they didn't even exist in their class.

"Class, we have a new student today. Miss. Isha Lynsgrave, right?" The teacher, Mr. Anderson asked politely. The girl nodded as she scanned the room. "Would you like to tell us something about yourself?"

"My name is Isha, call me anything else and you die. I can beyblade, street blade, street fight, and fight. And that's pretty much it. Oh and if you have any more questions then forget it cuz I ain't answering none," Isha said coldly locking her gaze with Tala and Kai.

"Ok, then, you can sit beside Tala and Kai and I expect you both to show her around for the week," Mr. Anderson said. Both teens raised their hands and Isha went and sat beside them in their group which also had Ray in it. Tala, Kai and Ray smirked at her but all she did was roll her eyes. Isha started to doodle on her notebook as the teacher started with the lesson.

After class was over, which seemed like forever to her, she gathered her things and walked out of the classroom followed by Kai, Tala and Ray. Isha kept on going until she found a locker with no lock on it. She opened it, put her stuff in it and closed it putting her own lock on it. As she started to walk away, Tala called her.

"Hey Isha, you're supposed to come with us!" Tala exclaimed. Isha turned around and looked at him blankly.

"Thanks but no thanks. I don't need help," Isha said coldly. As she turned to go, another voice called her.

"Hey babe, what do you say I give you as personal tour of this school?" A new voice called to her. She spun around and saw Michael smiling slyly at her. She went over to him and punched his face hard with her fist, leaving a bluish bruise on his left cheek.

"Woah!" Johnny said amazingly.

"Yeah whoa, and the next time to talk to me like that, I'll hospitalize you," Isha said darkly which caught the attention of a few cheerleaders. They came running to Michael and glared at her. "Are you cheerleaders?" Isha asked since they weren't in their uniforms. They nodded happily.

"I'm Angel. How'd you know we're cheerleaders?" She asked lending out a hand. Isha looked at it and sighed.

"Well let's see, the usual ditzy nature, blonde hair and no brains. No biggie.Only a cheerleader could have these traits in her," Isha said smirking. Angel scowled at her and looked at Johnny, pulling a face. "Please don't pull a face, it makes you look uglier than you already are," She added and walked away.

A bunch of other people who noticed the scene silently cheered for her inside. Angel was a bossy bitch. She always thought she was all that because she used to go out with Kai. Same with her little followers. But Kai and Tala had something else on their minds. Unusually the girls would fall to their feet just to hang out with them and now when this girl got the chance, she actually let it go! I mean they were the hottest guys in the entire school and she even punched Michael. Something is definitely wierd about her.

**-O-**

Isha went to her locker and opened it. She was damn tired and in no mood to get in a fight. It was after school and after the little incident with Michael, she got into another fight outside the school which she won easily considering the way she trains everyday. She put all the books in her locker and since there was no homework, she didn't carry her bag home.

She closed the locker and was about to stand up when she saw a dark shadow cast upon her. Actually make that two. She raised her head and came face to face with Tala and Kai who were looking at her and the girls in the rest of the hallway glaring at her from their lockers or wherever they were.

"What?" She asked turning back to her locker, not caring. She checked if the lock was secure and then faced them. "Ya want something?"

"You," Tala replied. It was chosen in theScorpions that Kai would have the honor of fucking her and playing her since he was the best fighter in the school and also because he was the very first player in the group.

"Yeah, whatever. You wish," She said before turning to go but was grabbed back when a hand grabbed her wrist and she came face to face with Kai who was staring down at her.

"When I want something, I get it," Kai grunted.

"And you think that I care?" Isha grunted as well before yanking her hand away from him and walking away. Kai ran after her, intending to find more.

**Dragon**: Hey, so did you like it? Or should I make some more changes? Right now I'm on Christmas holidays so chances are that I will update soon enough. Please leave some more reviews to tell me, oki doki?...Good


	2. Old Friends? Are you serious?

**Dragon**: Hey, so did you like it? Or should I make some more changes? Right now I'm on Christmas holidays so chances are that I will update soon enough. Please leave some more reviews to tell me, oki doki?...Good

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**Chapter 2**

Kai followed her outside but by the time he reached there, she was gone. He looked around a couple of times but it was no use. She was a tough one but he would break her like he broke every other one. He had to admit that he was quite surprised when she refused him AND punched Michael.

He shook his head and cleared the thoughts as he headed back inside to grab his jacket from his locker and Math books. Not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment, he went to the parking lot, got in his car and sped away.

**-O-**

Isha looked back and sighed. He hadn't followed. She shook her head and then continued walking home, slowly. As she was walking, she saw a familiar car stop right in front of her. The driver pulled down the window and stuck their head out.

"Hey Isha, wanna ride home?" It was a guy. He had black hair, like her, but no highlights or streaks. He had dark blue eyes and he wore a dark gray hoodie. Isha grinned and nodded. She ran to the other side of the car and got in.

"Thanks, Chase," she said as she closed the door. What neither of them had noticed was a very familiar red head watching.

"So, how was school?" Chase asked.

"Same old shit, you know. Not really different from Surrey," Isha said putting Fallen by Evanescence in the CD drive. She smiled as she listened to My Immortal.

_I'm so tired of being here  
__Suppressed by all my childish fears  
__And if you have to leave  
__I wish that you would just leave  
__Cause your presence still lingers here  
__And it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
__This pain is just too real  
__There's just too much that time can not erase_

"You just love this song, don't you?" Chase asked turning right.

"Yeah, so any plans today?" Isha asked.

"I think mom and dad got invited by our neighbors or something. I'm not sure who they are but that's all they said," Chase said shrugging.

"Great! And I was looking forward to being alone tonight," Isha groaned.

"What is with you and being alone?"

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
__When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
__And I held your hand through all of these years  
__But you still have all of me_

_You used to captivate me by your resonating light  
__Now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
__Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams  
__Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me_

"Nothing, I just like the loneliness. I like to think without anyone disturbing me," Isha said carelessly, not answering for a long time. "Why do you care so much?"

"I am you brother, Isha, it's my duty to care." Isha shook her head and looked out the window.

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
__This pain is just too real  
__There's just too much that time can not erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
__When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
__And I held your hand through all of these years  
__But you still have all of me_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
__But though you're still with me  
__I've been alone all along_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
__When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
__I held your hand through all of these years  
__But you still have all of me_

**-O-**

"Kai, there you are!" He heard his mother's voice calling him.

"Yeah, what?"

"Kai, we have guests coming over," His mother said more calmly.

"Who?" Kai asked, a little surprised. '_Great, just what I need_,' he thought sarcastically but didn't say it out loud.

"They're our old friends. They used to live here, in New York, before they moved to London a few years back. I think they have a girl and I think she's your age and a son who's about 21," His mom informed as she prepared the salad in a decorative manner.

"Oh, okay. Does Maressa know?" Kai asked, getting ready to leave.

"Yes, she does. By the way, it's not formal or anything so you can wear whatever you want," His mother called out.

'_Well, atleast one thing is good_,' he thought as he entered his room. Maressa was his sister. She goes to the same school as him but was absent today as she was sick. He went and sat on the computer and logged on his AIM. He looked down the list and saw that only 2 people were online. Ray and Johnny.

**I'm the sexiest…says:** hey kai

**Stupid guests comin' over says:** hey Johnny

**I'm the sexiest…says:** what's up?

**Stupid guests comin' over says:** read my AIM name…wut do u think?

**I'm the sexiest…says:** ooo…sux to be u :) btw, I saw the new girl getting into a car when I was coming home with some guy that looked like 20 or 21 n he dunt go to our skool.

**Stupid guests comin' over says:** and I care…?

**I'm the sexiest…says:** u gotta do the bet, remember?

**Stupid guests comin' over says:** whatever, I gotta go, I think they're here and btw, ur not the sexiest…

_**Stupid guests are comin' over signed off at 6:37 am. **_

Kai closed AIM and shut down the computer. He exited the room and went to his sister's room. Kai opened the door and peaked in.

"Hey, Maressa," Kai called out.

"Yeah?" A girl's voice came out of the bathroom. After a moment, she came out. The girl had soft brown hair and stunning gray eyes. She wore a blue belled-sleeve top and black pants. "What?"

"They're here," Kai answered.

"Oh. You go ahead, I'll be right there," Maressa said turning back around and going to the bathroom. Kai nodded and closed the door. He sighed and went down the stairs.

As he neared the living room, he could hear noises coming from there. He walked in the living room and the talking stopped. Everybody looked at him.

"There you are, Kai!" His mother, Adrienne Hiwatari, exclaimed.

"Maressa is gonna come in a second," Kai said automatically. He looked at the guests. The man had soft raven hair and bluish-green eyes and he wore a casual t-shirt on jeans. The woman had soft caramel hair and hazel eyes. She wore a simple beige skirt with a brown top.

Kai moved his eyes to their children and widened them as he saw Isha. She didn't have a look of surprise on her face. Either she already knew she was coming to his house or she was really good at hiding the surprise. She wore a black off-the-shoulder top with spaghetti straps showing and crimson jeans. She had a silver chain around her neck and the pendant was that of a black dragon with real emerald eyes. The boy next to her had black hair, like the man and Isha, and dark blue eyes. He wore gray cargo pants and a white t-shirt underneath a V-shaped full-sleeved sweater.

"What did I miss?" Maressa said from behind him and grinned. She looked over at Isha and grinned even more. "Are you that new girl everyone's talking about?" Isha nodded slowly.

"Why?"

"Hey, it's not everyday a girl turns down Michael, you know," Maressa said smirking. "I think we're gonna get along just fine." With that, she walked over to Isha, took her arm and dragged her upstairs to her room. Chase blinked a couple of times before registering what just happened.

"Now you know she's gonna turn out just like Anjali," Adrienne Hiwatari teased. Kai thought it Anjali must be the woman because she was blushing a bit.

"I'm going to be up in my room, finishing my homework if you need me," Kai said, turning around and going back to his room.

Dinner went oddly well. Isha didn't find Maressa that bad even though she had her doubts because of Maressa being related to Kai. Her parents and Maressa's parents had caught up and refreshed an old friendship. Chase had to leave soon because even though it was a Friday, he still had to finish his work since he attended NYU. And fortunately for all of them, Isha and Kai didn't talk much. God knows if they did, it would be utter chaos.

Just as they were leaving, Maressa pulled Isha aside. "Is there something between you and the ass?" She asked motioning to her brother. Isha grinned at the insult and shook her head.

"Hell no, I'd die before I had anything to do with him," Isha grinned even more and gave a silent laugh.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow, Isha. You HAVE to meet my other friends, especially Brooklyn," Maressa smirked and they walked back to the living room. Her parents got up as they entered and she took it as a sign to go.

_Maybe all Hiwataris aren't that bad_, she thought with amusement dancing in her eyes.

**Dragon:** There you have it people! The second chapter! REVIEW , oki doki? Bye for now…


	3. Historica Projects and Evil Teachers

**Dragon: **Okay, I have a surprise for all you people out there who LOVE this ficcies laughs I have a very special announcement and that is that from now on, this ficcies is being co-written by none other than **_Maresia Eterna_**! And, no that doesn't mean that this story is going to change or anything. It's still going to be the same only I have another author helping me.

**Fiery Kai:** Aww…thank you! No, this isn't a one-shot. And thanks a lot for the rating. 9/10, huh? That's really good! Yeah, you know what? I don't like Michael either and don't worry, there might be some more Michael bashing later on.

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**-O-**

Isha yawned lazily and blinked a couple of times. She had arrived home late last night and had to wake up really early to start training. Just as she was about to drop her head on the desk and fall asleep, a hand clamped on her right shoulder. She turned around and saw Maressa grinning like there's no tomorrow.

"Rough night?" The brown-haired girl asked. Isha nodded sleepily.

"I went to bed at like 11:30 yesterday and then had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to train," she grumbled. Maressa gave a soft laugh and dropped on the seat next to her partly Asian friend. "Shut up! You have no idea how much of an ass Aryan can be!"

"Ooh, who's Aryan?" Maressa chirped. Isha looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"He is the bane of my existence!"

"Is he cute?" Maressa asked innocently.

"MARESSA!"

"What? I just asked if he's cute or not! Sheesh, no need to kill me!" Maressa said laughing as Isha growled, narrowing her eyes at the girl across her.

"OH GOD! When is lunch gonna start?" Isha whined like a little baby and pouted childishly. Maressa checked her watch and frowned.

"Damn, still an hour to kill," she said and Isha groaned banging her head lightly on the desk. "So tell me more about this Aryan dude." Isha sighed and looked up.

"Aryan is like a cousin of mine but not biologically. I've known him since I was a little baby. He is basically the one who trains me and he enjoys every damn moment of it," Isha said. Maressa laughed out loud.

"Why? And what the hell do you mean "he trains" you?"

"Well, when I was in London, I was involved a LOT in athletics and I did stuff like basketball, volleyball, tennis and track. So, my parents asked Aryan if he could train me 'cuz he trained Chase and they sent me to him ever since I was in 2nd grade. After that, he just makes sure I'm flexible 'cuz everybody who knows me know that I take athletics very seriously," Isha explained.

"Ooh, I am more of an academic person," Maressa said. Isha nodded.

"That's why we click," she said grinning. "I get to make sure you get involved in some kind of a sport and you make sure I pass in my classes," she added grinning. "Ying and Yang," she added again.

"Ah, you mean, practically do your homework for you," Maressa corrected joking.

"Hey, I'm not THAT desperate," Isha said shaking her head.

"So you say," Maressa said and grinned. "Anyways, so you were trained by Aryan since you were in 2nd grade. Tell me more."

"So then when I was in 6th grade, Aryan's mom and dad divorced and the court gave his mom the custody. But then like 4 months later, his mom died 'cuz she was drinking and driving and his father denied the custody so then my mom and dad took him in."

"So, he lives with you now?"

"He used to but when he came to NYC with us, he got his own place," Isha said. "Unfortunately, I still have to go to him and you should see the tortures he puts me through," she added narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms by her chest.

"But you gotta admit though, if it wasn't for him, you might still be slacking off on your training because you would have no one to make sure you do what you're supposed to. Admit it, you're stronger because he trains you," she said pointedly. Isha glared at her.

"Why are you sticking up for him? You didn't even meet the guy! For all you know and care, he could be the reincarnation of the demon child from the underworld and the other demons sent him on Earth because he was too demonic for them!" Isha exclaimed. Maressa stared at her with her eyes wide open and then burst out laughing. Isha looked behind her, around her and then back at the Russian girl. "Do I have an invisible alien behind me that I can't see but you can? And if there is one, is it making faces?"

At this, Maressa even laughed harder. Isha scowled at her and turned away angrily.

"I'm sorry but you—" she said between laughs. "You are just hilarious." She stopped laughing but Isha still didn't look at her. "I'm sorry but I am just not used to people making comments like that." Isha sighed and turned to her.

"It's okay, not your fault," she grumbled. She looked at the desk in front of her and sat quietly for a moment.

"Hey Maressa!" A voice yelled out. Isha looked up behind Maressa and she turned around as well. It was a boy that had orangish-red hair and piercing blue eyes, a bit like Tala Valkov but his eyes were much lighter. He had slightly pale skin but not that much either. The boy looked Russian to her. He wore blue jeans and a tee shirt underneath an unbuttoned white and black striped shirt.

"Suppers Brook?" Maressa greeted back as the boy came near. His face turned from a smile to an annoyed expression when Maressa called him that. Maressa turned back to face Isha who had narrowed her eyes at the Russian teen. He took a random chair, turned it around and the straddled it while resting his arms on it. "Isha, meet my bestest friend in the whole wide world, Brooklyn Kingston. Brooklyn, this is the girl I told you about," Maressa finished.

Brooklyn turned his gaze towards Isha and studied her as she did the same. He allowed a small smile on his face as he extended his right hand out. Isha shook his hand stiffly for a quick second and then let go. "Pleasure to meet you, Isha."

"Same to you too," Isha said with a hint of dislike in her voice that Maressa didn't catch. For some reason, she just didn't trust this guy. For all she knew, he could be one of the Scorpions. Brooklyn opened his mouth to say something but before he could, the bell rung.

"Well, I've got free period so I can stay, you guys?" Maressa asked checking her schedule.

"Me too," Brooklyn said.

"Damn, I got history with Riley," Isha said checking her schedule as well.

"I hate you too," Maressa said glaring at her.

"What did I do now?" Isha asked completely clueless.

"I want Riley, man! He's like the coolest teacher in this school! I had him last year and he was a LOT of fun. I don't have any classes with him this year!" Maressa exclaimed.

"Yes you do, you have Drama and Math with him," Brooklyn pointed out. Maressa blinked for a second.

"Oh yeah! Never mind, I still love ya!" Maressa exclaimed. Isha nodded very slowly and then walked away.

**-O-**

Isha walked into her history class, Room 121. Only 3 people were there. She took a seat at the back and hoped that nobody would sit beside her as the desks were arranged in pairs. Taking out her doodle book, she flipped through pages and pages of her doodles before coming to a blank one.

Just as she was about to draw something, the second bell rang, telling everybody that you HAD to be in class by now. Now, a swarm of people started coming in and taking their seats. At last, a young man, probably in his early 30s or late 20s entered with a bunch of books and papers in his hands. He walked to the front desk and put the papers and books on them.

She shifted her eyes from the man when she heard a chair shuffling and a person sitting on it. Looking beside her, she saw a Chinese man with LONG hair that was tied to a pony tail. He had amber eyes and wore black pants on a white polo t-shirt. He also had a bandana on his head to keep the bangs out and it had a Ying Yang sign on it.

"Hey, I'm Ray Kon," he said giving her a smile. She turned back to the front.

"Hn."

"Who're you?" He asked. Looking closely at the girl, he realized that it was the girl that Tala told him about.

"Human," was her blunt reply. _Feisty, ne?_, he thought smiling inwardly. _Heh, Kai's gonna have a hard time taking her._

"Okay, quick story before we start for our lesson. I got my first job as a teacher in an elementary school," Mr. Riley said sitting on the edge of his desk. Isha noticed that by this point, everybody had shut up and were listening intently to what the teacher was saying.

"I was supposed to teach a first grade class. So, anyways, one day in the year, this kid, Kevin, comes up to me bawling his eyes out before it was time to recess. And I got so worried! I was thinking like 'Oh my God, someone probably punched him or something' and I asked him what was wrong," Mr. Riley continued doing actions with his hands. "And he says that 'Mr. Riley! Mr. Riley! David butted me in the line!" At this, the whole class burst out laughing. Isha just shook her head and snickered.

"And then," Mr. Riley sighed as if it had happened all over again. "I had to pull out David and ask him to apologize and what not," he finished. But nobody heard the last part as they were too busy laughing. After a few minutes, the laughter died out and everybody shut up once again, waiting for the teacher to go on.

Just as Mr. Riley was about to speak, the door opened again and in came Kai Hiwatari. Isha let out a small groan which Ray heard and silently laughed.

"Late as usual, Kai?" Kai shrugged and walked to his seat which was in front of Ray and across from Isha. He looked at her and smirked before taking his seat. "Today, we will be starting a new project called Historica." He stopped speaking as though waiting for the "awws" and the groans from his class which they did as if on cue.

"Anyways, you'll be doing this project in pairs of twos and you can choose the partners." Again, Mr. Riley stopped talking and waited as the class cheered. "The point of this project is that you learn something about an historical event related to your country. You can choose your own topic and choose how you want to do it but it has to be related to your country. Now, you may ask, 'Mr. Riley, we're working in pairs, how do we EVER choose whose country we will work on?' and stuff like that.

"Well, you can do Rock, Paper, Scissors or whatever you want. You'll get this entire period to choose a topic and then at the end, I'll record your topics down, everybody clear?"

A girl sitting at the very front raised her hand. "Do we have to prepare a report or present our information on a board?"

"Again, that's your choice but I suggest you do a board because you will be presenting this to the class," Mr. Riley answered. "Any more questions?" A couple of people raised their hands. "Yes, Risha?"

"When is it due?"

"It's due in a month and a half. You have six weeks to prepare your project."

"How much is it out of?" A random person shouted. "And does our topic have to be related to our country?"

"It's out of a 100, Travis. And not necessarily but I advise you to because that way you would learn something about to do with your roots. And next time, please raise your hand," Mr. Riley said. "Is that it?" No one answered. "Then, you may begin!"

Isha got up and frowned. She barely knew anyone on this class. How the hell was she supposed to get a partner? As soon as she left, Kai got up and took her seat and started talking to Ray about their topic. She felt someone poke her on the shoulder and she turned around.

It was the same girl that had asked the question about when the project being due.

"Wanna be my partner?" She asked.

"Sure," Isha replied following the girl to her seat. She had brown hair that went up to her waist. She wore blue jeans that had the faded color design and a white Rolling Stones tee. They went to her desk and both took a seat, across from each other.

"My name is Risha Avery. You are the new girl, right?" Isha nodded.

"The name's Isha," she replied. "So, what's the topic?" Risha shrugged.

"You can choose the topic. It doesn't matter to me. What country are you from?"

"I'm a mixed person. My roots are Russia, Ireland and India. You?"

"USA," Risha said. "Wanna do something from Ireland?"

"You got something in mind?" Isha asked raising her eyebrows.

"I was hoping you did."

"Well, I got two things. We can do The Great Famine or the Omagh Bomb."

"The bomb thing sounds interesting. What's it about?"

"I have no clue but hey, that's what internet is all for," she said giving the dark haired girl a small smile. "So it's settled, right?" Risha nodded and took out her book to write their topic and a few questions to start off their research. Having their work finished, they started to talk casually till the end of the period.

"Is everybody ready to tell me their topic?" Mr. Riley asked. Everybody stopped their talking and looked up at the dirty blonde haired teacher. "When I call you name, tell me your partner's name and what your project topic is. We'll start with Trisha Anderson."

"My partner is Ritu Ahmed and our topic is the Caribana," an African-American girl said.

"Risha Avery?"

"My partner is Isha and we're doing it on the Omagh Bomb in Ireland," Risha said confidently. No sooner had she said that, they heard a loud 'WHAT?' from behind. Everybody turned around to find Kai having an enraged expression on his face.

"Is there a problem, Kai?" Mr. Riley asked giving a big sigh.

"Yes, there is, that is what we're going to do our project on," he said as Isha narrowed his eyes at him.

"Well, too bad, because we thought of it first," she retorted standing up and putting her hands on her hips. Seeing this, Kai stood up as well.

"I am not letting go of this topic."

"Tough shit, Hiwatari, because you're gonna have too."

"Isha, no swearing in class," Mr. Riley said but it didn't seen like she heard him. "Kai, you're not even Irish and neither is Ray, so why don't you pick something to do with Russia or China?"

"We already know about our countries so we decided to pick a country that we don't know about," Ray explained.

"Well, there are other countries in this world, Kon, not just Ireland," Isha said spitefully. Risha saw the tension rising between the two enemies.

"Isha," she said worriedly. "It's okay; we'll do the Great Famine." Isha shook her head stubbornly.

"No way, we thought of the Omagh Bomb first so we get to do the project on it," Isha said stubbornly. "They could do their project on the Great Famine."

Mr. Riley sighed. "Okay, you know what? You four meet me after class and we'll discuss this then." Isha glared coldly at Kai before taking a seat beside Risha and giving an angry sigh.

The bell rang shortly after the argument and everybody exited except the two pairs. They remained on the seats and Mr. Riley closed the door softly behind the last person. He had a free period this time so he needn't worry about any class needing to wait. He turned to the four teens.

"Now, I have figured some thing out and if I voice my opinion, you _will_ have to follow it so before I do, I'll ask one more time. Is either one of you willing to let go of the topic?" He asked to Isha and Kai more than Risha and Ray. And by the look of the stubborn faces on both of them, he got his answer. He turned to Risha and Ray.

"Risha and Ray decide on a topic and give it to me tomorrow. You two will be working together. And as for you two, since the both of you won't let go of this topic, you'll be working together, okay?" Mr. Riley said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"**_WHAT?_**" Isha's voice rang out. She went up to the teacher and slammed her hands on his desk, glaring at him heatedly. "That's worse than letting go of my topic!" Mr. Riley held up a hand in front of her.

"I told you that if I voice my opinion, you'll have to follow it," he said. "Ray, you and Risha can go seeing as you don't need to be here at the moment."

"Riley, you can't seriously expect me to work with this wench," Kai growled.

"Wench? Look who's talking man-whore!" Isha yelled.

"Guys, no swearing please," Mr. Riley said wearily. "Look, either the both of you work together or both of you get an automatic big fat egg."

"How could you be so **_evil_**?" Isha accused pointing a finger at Mr. Riley.

"Get going, you guys, you only have six weeks to finish the project. There will be no extensions."

With a frustrated 'hmph', Isha stormed out of the room with Kai right behind her. He'd been in Riley's class before and knew of his teacher's stubbornness. And if he wanted to pass in history, he would have to work with Lynsgrave—whether he liked it or not.

**Aquilius: **Well, that's Chapter 3! Don't forget to review!


	4. New Entry?

**Jaded-Reflection: **WOW! You guys, you have no idea how happy I am! You guys sent me sooo many reviews! A special thanks to **Clare** who sent in 2 reviews for the last chapter.

**Ashley:** Hey, thanks very much for liking it.

**Marisa:** Hm…interesting email ID…I like it! Hope you enjoy this update!

**Maresia Eterna:** Hey girl! Yeah, you're right. We all have a kid in all of us…now if I just get my dad to realize that…LOL! Thanks a lot for your review! And well, you get my emails so yeah; I'll let you know if I want/need anything else. Ciao!

**HeartlessDevil:** Yeah, I feel sorry for her too…but oh well. Some things you just have to do! Enjoy!

**KaiKaiCutie:** Thanks for the review! Here's your update!

**Clare:** A special thanks to you for reviewing two times! And you just might be surprised at what Isha does to Kai. Here's your update!

**Untimely Demise:** Heh…cool name. Very talented? I don't know about that. This is my first time writing humor like this. Thanks for reviewing!

**Xx-CrazyAnimeLuva-xX:** Hey, it's ok. Everybody loves to laugh! Thanks for the review and here's the update!

**CrazyHyperActiveChild:** Thanks for the review!

**Athene Rowan:** HEYZZ! OMG! You actually read this? Yeah, I was so surprised when I got your review! And I'm confused as to what you mean by me stealing your last name. And thanks for your suggestion. I'll keep that in mind!

**Crying Sorceress:** Hm…a Mary Sue, eh? I wasn't going for that. But let me tell you, she isn't really that perfect. I just haven't really included her flaws yet. But she does have some. Cool name by the way. And thanks for your suggestion and review! Here's the update!

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**Disclaimer: **Isha and everything that you don't recognize belongs to me, but Mandisa and everything to do with her belongs to **Maresia Eterna**.

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New Entry?

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"You know when you said he was the best teacher, you didn't say he was the evil and the torturous kind too," Isha complained, annoyance showing clearly on her face. Her Russian companion grinned in delight at her as they made a right turn and entered the cafeteria.

"Oops," she said, not meaning the apology at all. Isha mildly glared at her but it had no affect on Maressa. "What? Look, he's like that. I mean it happened to me so many times. Like you see with Brooklyn? I didn't really like him way back when we were freshmen. But then we got stuck together as study partners for a major unit test for Riley's class and since then, we've been best friends."

Isha shrugged. "But still, this is your brother we're talking about not some random guy, okay?"

"Oh well…it's just six weeks. Besides, I have a feeling this project might even be over before six weeks so not too much to worry about." Maressa led her to a table at the back where two girls were already seating from before. One was just pink. Too pink. She wore a pink skirt, a baby pink and white tank top and even her sandals were pink. Isha's gaze moved to her face. The girl had amber eyes and pink hair.

"AHHH! We're being attacked by the pinkzilla from Planet Barbie!" She yelled before she could stop it. The pink girl looked up and gave a glare while Maressa and the other girl just snickered.

"Haha…real funny," the said girl retorted dryly before going back to her work.

Maressa and Isha took a seat across them. "Sorry, I have never seen so much pink together in my life. I ain't a big fan of pink," the Asian girl said. Maressa turned around for a moment to see if anybody had noticed Isha's outburst and was surprised to see The Scorpions looking at them, amusingly. Her gaze lingered on Tala for a while before turning back to her friends.

"Heh…see, Mariah? I told you that would scare everyone," Maressa said. The pink girl, Mariah, looked up from her book only to glare at her this time. "Anyways," she started, ignoring the glare. "This is Mariah—you might already know that by now, and that is Risika."

Isha grinned at Mariah and then shifted her gaze to the quiet girl sitting beside Mariah. She had ice-blue hair that was tied up in a high ponytail with a few strands of hair framing her heart shaped face. Risika had willow green eyes and a petite body. She was probably the shortest out of all of them, Isha decided.

Risika looked up from her sandwich and gave a small smile.

"And this, my friends, is Isha Lynsgrave," Maressa finished.

"You're the one who punched Michael!" Risika said, clear amusement showing on her face and voice. Isha smirked evilly.

"Yuppers. The freakin' moron deserved it," she said not sounding sorry at all.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…now can you all keep quiet? I'm trying to study for a science test here," Mariah said. "I didn't even know there was a test today!"

"That's why you stay awake and actually listen, Riah. I know it must be very difficult for you but its ok. You'll get it after some time," Risika teased. "Besides, it wasn't that hard. We had it just before lunch. Space Science is kinda easy."

"Wanna tell me the questions then?" Mariah asked hopefully. Risika shook her head in regret. "Why the hell not?"

"Because, Murphy made sure that both tests have different questions. Sine he knows that people from two classes might mingle and tell each other questions or answers."

"Stupid Murphy," Mariah cursed.

"I'm sure it ain't that hard," Isha intervened. Mariah took her book and placed it in front of the raven haired girl.

"Look at it and tell me it ain't hard." Isha looked down and scanned the page.

"Okaaay…maybe I was wrong then. Well, atleast it's just gonna last a day. I have to spend six weeks with him!" Isha started whining again. Mariah and Risika looked confusingly at the annoyed Russian.

"Riley made her and Kai partners for the Historica project," she informed. Risika and Mariah snickered as the Asian girl gave them a heated glare.

"Oh sure, laugh at me!" Isha complained folding her arms in front of her chest and pouting.

"Don't worry about it, Isha. Riley's like that but let me assure, he's absolutely the best there is," Risika confirmed and Maressa nodded in agreement.

"Told you so."

**-O-**

Maressa smiled to herself as she entered the VA room with a sketchbook and her pencil case in her hands. She had a strange talent in Art. Whenever her hands touched the pencil, it was like a spark passed through her and onto the pencil which made all her sketches so life-like.

The first time she had ever gotten a sketchbook or even started to sketch was when she was 14. People always said that artists start drawing from when they were really young so they have time to develop their talents and skills. When she was just 14, she had just wanted to experiment with different things and came across Art. She had found some pictures from the net and decided to draw them. Pleased with the results, she had kept on sketching and sketching. She had atleast 3 Art sketchbooks in her closet by now.

And when her mother had accidentally found all the sketchbooks and looked through them, she had made her get into VA. Though, now that she thought about it, it was all for the best. She had learnt many new skills and her sketching had improved a whole lot.

The only one thing she didn't like about her Arts class is that _he_ was in it. Who would have thought that the tough and strong looking Tala Valkov would actually like Art? She didn't think so either until she found out. But she had to say, despite how much she hated him and vice-versa, his art was actually quite good. Art Room was the only place—that she knew of, in which he looked like he was concentrating on his work.

Maybe it was because none of his other friends were in this class or maybe because it was quiet and peaceful in the room. Either way, he concentrated and that surprised her a lot. Her thoughts came to a halt when she heard the chair across her screech. She looked up, pausing her sketching, and gazed questionably as the very guy she had been thinking about, took a seat there.

**-O-**

Tala Valkov grinned to himself and shook his head in amusement as he saw a redhead spluttering at his sandy-haired friend. By now, he had grown used to Michael's way of telling the girls that he was done with them.

Tears leaked out of the redhead's eyes and she turned around and ran away, out of the cafeteria. Michael grinned evilly at everybody else on the table. Tala gave a cool smirk and took a small sip from his Dr. Pepper drink. He savored the cherry and vanilla taste in his mouth before gulping it down.

"Why do women have to be so emotionally weak?" Michael questioned as Tala and Johnny looked at him weirdly. "I mean every time you tell them it's over, they cry and run away like wimps."

Tala rolled his eyes.

"Why do you even think about all that stuff?" Johnny asked. Michael shrugged and was about to reply when Ray and Kai joined them.

"What's up?" Kai asked, opening his Root Beer.

"We just saw that redhead running away, bawling her eyes out," Ray said, shaking her head. Michael grinned at him. "On second thought, we don't wanna know."

Tala looked at Kai for a moment, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Heard you stuck with the little spitfire," Tala said. Kai looked up at him and shrugged.

"I can handle her."

"Yeah right…all I did was ask her name and she didn't even look at me," Ray retorted. Kai gave him an annoyed expression, making the rest of the gang chuckle.

"Ray's right, Kai. Even yesterday, she was a spitfire. And feisty. You're gonna have a hard time getting her," Johnny pointed up. "I mean, which girl has actually punched Michael? Or rejected him even?" Michael's eyes darkened at that, his hands gingerly touching the bruise on his left cheek.

"Why the hell are you worrying about it? I'm the one who has to do it. Besides, with this project, I have a better chance. We'll spend time together. You of all the people should know that I always get what I want," Kai said, his lips forming a smirk that matched Tala's only it was much colder.

Johnny was about to respond to the crimson eyed boy when they heard a faint yell two tables away.

"_AHHH! We're being attacked by the pinkzilla from Planet Barbie!"_

The five males turned to the table and were clearly amused at the raven-haired girl that had yelled. They watched the pink girl and her exchange some words before both the girls that were standing up took a seat from across the other two girls.

The girl beside Isha turned around, as if scanning the cafeteria. Her face showed surprise as she caught them looking at them. _Maressa_, Tala thought. Her gaze held his for a moment before she turned around and started talking with her friends. Tala looked at Ray who was staring intently at the pink haired girl—a dazed expression on his face.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought as his imagination and looked away. Just then the bell rand. Everyone snapped out of their thoughts and started getting up.

"See you people after school," Michael and Johnny said as they left. Kai nodded at Ray and Tala and left as well.

"See you man," Ray said and left as well. Tala turned around and walked out of the cafeteria doors and headed to his Arts room.

Everyone was quite surprised when they found out that he wanted to take VA. They were even more surprised when they looked at all of his sketches once. His mother had always said that he got the gift of drawing from his father. His father, Adryan Valkov, was an immensely talented and skilled artist. Ever since he was little, his father would give him lessons on how to improve his skills and how to use light when drawing still life objects.

Unfortunately, like every good thing, this had also came to an end when his father had died because of a shooting when Tala was just 9. He had stopped drawing for 2 years but when he realized that by doing that, he couldn't forget what had happened. At first, after that, he started to draw because of his father. Now, he drew because he liked it and he wanted to remember his father in his own kind of way. He wanted to preserve the memories he had of his father by transferring them onto paper. By preserving the memories, he would preserve his father.

He opened the VA room door and noticed lots of seats that weren't taken but chose to take the one where Kai's sister was sitting. Sometimes, he didn't know what was so different about her. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she never looked twice at him or the fact that she just didn't care but he had decided that something about her was different. She wouldn't give into him that easily. She didn't throw herself at him and sometimes he was quite impressed with it.

He ignored her questioning gaze when he took a seat across her and took out his sketchbook and started sketching. His hands made a rough outline of something that he often thought about when nobody was around. As he finished the outline, he went over it in a darker tone and then continued by adding little details here and there. After about 10 minutes, he heard more feet shuffling into the room and closed his sketchbook and looked at the teacher.

**-O-**

The teacher, Ms. Suh, entered the classroom, balancing a huge stack of papers on one hand and carrying a navy blue bag in the other. Everybody stopped their chattering and gave Ms. Valle their full attention. Ms. Suh was the youngest teacher in the faculty. She looked about 23. She was Chinese but had Japanese features. She had straight dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes to match it. She was really pretty as well.

"Well, guys, I hope you had a wonderful evening last night. As you can probably guess, I am going to give back your assignments from last week. Finally finished marking all of them. Before I hand them back to you, all I want to say is that you all did an amazing job. Each and every one of you had their own special way of the way you portray your sketches as well as your feelings that you pour into them. You have improved a lot from what I saw for your last assignment.

"Now, as you also might know, Term 1 of the first semester is over. But we still have 3 terms left. And I decided to do something different this time," Ms. Suh said in a soft voice, leaning against her desk. Maressa put down her pencil and looked up in curiosity. "I was wondering what would happen if we mix a little bit of photography with Art? Yeah, technically, photography does come into Visual Arts but it doesn't come under the actual sub-category of Drawing. So, think it's a good idea?"

Various shouts of "whatevers", "yeahs" and "yup" echoed into the classroom. Maressa grinned. This was definitely something different.

"Great…so this is how it goes. I divide you into pairs." Whines erupted from the class now. Ms. Suh grinned. "Anyways, you take a couple of pictures of your partner and then choose one picture for each term. So for example, you would pick one picture for the upcoming term. You will then use everything that you learnt in the term and combine it to make a copy of the picture in your sketchbooks.

"I want you to try to be as accurate you can get on it. Every term, we will do something different. We will start of with simple charcoal for the upcoming term; then move onto oil pastels to add a bit of color into it and then finally finish it off with painting. For the painting, you will be provided with paper as you won't be able to do that in your books," the brown haired teacher paused to take a breath.

"You can take as many pictures as you want but I only want three. One for each term. And make sure that you hand in your picture with your final result. I will compare it and make you accordingly. Think about this project as your major unit project. It will be worth 40 of your final grades. So, any questions?"

"When is it due for the upcoming term?" A random voice shouted out from the middle of the class.

"It will be due one week before Christmas holidays. You will be given back your marked projects as soon as you come back from your holidays."

"How much will it be out of?"

"I still have to think about it but it will probably be out of 50. 25 for accuracy; 15 marks for shading values and the other 10 for the way you portray the drawing."

"So when will you tell us who our partners are?" Maressa asked.

"Right now actually. You will be paired up with whoever is sitting across you."

Maressa choked and looked at Tala horrified. He glanced up at her and looked back at the teacher. She frowned. No sneer? No comments? No nothing? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Now as for your assignments, Maressa, could you please hand them out please?" Maressa nodded and got up from her seat. Ms. Suh handed her the whole stack and she started distributing it around the class. She smiled at the mark she received and quickly read the comments before putting it on her desk and then giving the rest out.

She stared at the last one in shock. It was a picture of a man in a hospital, surrounded by people and various machines and wires attached to him. He wore an oxygen mask on his face and he held a woman's hand. A young child was on the other side of the bed, holding the man's other hand and in the corner was a doctor.

The sheet was suddenly snatched out of her hand and she looked up to meet Tala's cold gaze. He looked at her with nothing but coldness in his eyes, his jaw clenched in anger. For a moment, she thought as if he was going to hit her but he just turned around and walked back to his seat.

It was then that she realized that the boy had been him and the man was his father. No wonder he had been angry when she had looked at the picture. For a moment Maressa remained frozen to the spot. She watched the retreating back of the crimson eyed boy in shock. Shaking her head, she went over to the door and grabbed the Hall Pass. She signed her name in the sign out sheet and left the classroom.

Maressa wandered the halls aimlessly, trying to forget what she had just encountered in the classroom. She swung the Hall Pass by the string in the air and caught it again. As she neared the Main Office, she noticed a girl standing there with a white paper in her hands. As she neared the new girl, she realized that she looked a bit Japanese. She had slightly tanned skin and a sturdy yet slender figure. Her red-wine eyes were framed with strands of ice-blue hair that went past her shoulder and was wavy. The girl looked up when she felt someone's eyes burning holes into her. She smiled slightly and Maressa grinned back.

"You lost?" Maressa asked and the girl nodded. "Can I see your timetable?" The girl handed the white sheet of paper to her and Maressa scanned the contents. "Hey! You have Art with Ms. Suh!"

"Is that good?" The girl asked meekly. Maressa nodded enthusiastically.

"You have her right now! I'm in the class too!"

"Oh, would you take me there?"

"Sure…oh, by the way, my name is Maressa Hiwatari," the auburn eyed girl said offering her hand. Her new friend grinned and shook it.

"I'm Mandisa Mahina. I just moved here from Hawaii (or we can have Japan, you call)." Maressa raised a brow at her as they started walking.

"Really? You look Japanese to me." Mandisa laughed.

"You won't believe how many people have told me that! I'm actually half-Japanese and half-Hawaiian," she said. Maressa looked at her surprisingly. "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just surprised because I've never had a friend who's Hawaiian before."

"Well, you got one now!" They laughed and Maressa stopped in front of her Art class. She opened the door and half the class looked up and saw Mandisa. Ms. Suh tilted her head to the side and smiled at Mandisa. "Uh…hi, I'm Mandisa Mahina and I have you for Art right now." Ms. Suh came towards them and Mandisa handed her the timetable. Ms. Suh looked back at Mandisa and smiled brightly.

"Well, you can sit across from Kristen," she said. The partly Japanese girl nodded and walked to her seat. "Kristen, can you please fill Mandisa in on the Arts project?"

Maressa smiled slightly and walked back to her seat. Tala seemed to have calmed down a bit and turned a bit normal. She grinned at the thought. How did she know? He looked at her and simply sneered before going back to her work.

At the end of the class, Ms. Suh called Maressa and Tala over to her desk and waited for when everybody was out of the class. "Now, you might be shocked as to why I put you together," she began.

"Ditto that," Tala joined in.

"Heck yeah!"

"But trust me on this. You both have skills in Art but your styles are really different. Maressa, one thing I noticed about your sketches is that you always draw fictional things or things that we can only imagine. I want you to try to sketch someone that exists and I want to see where how you do in that. Tala, your sketches always have a hidden meaning in them. For some reason, they always reflect on what a person goes through at different stages in their lives. I have to be honest at you. I want to see what you portray when you draw Maressa. I know what kind of a relationship you guys have and for this project, I want to see what you portray in your sketches and paintings," she finished, looking at them earnestly.

Maressa sighed and looked at Tala expectantly. He gazed at her and then at Ms. Suh. And nodded after a while. Ms. Suh's face beamed in delight.

"Excellent! Now, get started soon, okay?"

**-O-**

Isha smirked evilly at her friend's predicament.

"See? Now you know how I felt!" She exclaimed doing a little happy dance. Mandisa stared at her confusingly and then at the other three girls. The shook their heads and she smile slightly.

"Oh shut up," Maressa mumbled giving her a mock glare. Isha grinned in return and then looked at Mandisa.

"So you're the new girl, right?" Mandisa nodded.

"I'm Mandisa. And you are?" She asked in return.

"I'm Isha," the raven haired girl replied. "That is Mariah," she said pointing to the pink haired girl. "And that is Rhea." Mandisa was about to say something when she noticed that Isha was glaring at something behind her. Turning around, she came face-to-face with five boys. "Yes? And how may I help you?" She asked spitefully, glaring at the leader in distaste.

Kai ignored the glares and smirked at Isha. She narrowed her eyes in return and clenched her teeth. Her hands began to form into fists. Ray, noticing this, quickly stepped up.

"Kai here was just wondering when you would like to get together do work on the project," he intervened. "Right, Kai?" He asked, looking at the two toned boy. Kai looked at him and then back at the spitfire.

"I think he can speak for himself, ne?" Isha gritted out. Johnny's eyes filled with anger. Ray was just trying to help!

"So what about it, Lynsgrave?" Kai asked, raising a slate gray eyebrow.

"Library at 6." All eyes shifted to the speaker. Maressa.

"And you are involved in this, exactly how?" Michael sneered. Isha growled in rage.

"She has a project with your friend too," Isha spoke for her this time. Tala sneered at her but nodded.

"Library at 6, then," Kai confirmed. Maressa and Isha nodded as the Scorpions left.

"So who are they?" Mandisa asked, confusingly.

"The blue idiot would be my brother, unfortunately," Maressa supplied.

"And the rest are too worthless for us to acknowledge them," Isha piped up, amusingly.

**-O-**

"Maressa! Hurry up, dammit!" Isha yelled loudly. Footsteps followed the call Isha could hear her friend trying to find her backpack. She sighed in disbelief. "MARESSA! I HAVE YOUR BACKPACK, YOU SMART PERSON!" Maressa came downstairs and smiled sheepishly. "You know, you may be smarter but I'm really starting to believe you have memory loss problems."

Maressa stuck her tongue out at the partly Asian girl and pouted. She picked up her backpack and started to walk outside as Isha followed, shaking her head. They walked towards Maressa's house where Kai had told them to be if they had wanted a ride. They had gone to Isha's house straight after school and had finished their homework (much to Isha's dismay) and then played Halo. As they walked nearer, they could see a sleek black Porsche in the driveway. "Are we gonna pick up Ivanov?" Maressa scoffed.

"Yeah right. He has his own car…and he knows where the library is so he can drive there himself." Isha cracked up and Kai looked at them weirdly as they got in the car. Maressa got in the front seat while Isha in the back. Kai reared up, turned left and drove away.

**-O-**

Isha, Kai, and Maressa entered the library, each carrying a couple of things. Maressa carried her sketchbook, her art pencils and all her colors. Isha had a blue folder in her hand along with a pencil case while Kai had another folder. They went in to the teen section in the library only to find Tala already sitting there, deeply buried in a book in which he was sketching furiously. The three took a seat but Tala didn't even glance up. Maressa sat beside Tala and peeked at his sketch. He looked up and glared at her coldly. She glared back and for a while, everyone worked in silence.

"OH GOD!" Isha burst out. Maressa flinched at the sudden outburst and glared at the raven haired girl. Kai and Tala growled.

"Now what, Lynsgrave?" Tala bit out.

"It's too quiet!" She exclaimed. The librarian that was stacking books near them turned around and put her index finger on her lips as if to say _Shh_. Isha smiled sheepishly at the white haired woman and turned back to her friend. Maressa glared at her. "What?"

"You made me mess up on my sketch," she whispered furiously. Isha blinked. She picked up an eraser.

"Hm…Maressa, it seems to me as though you haven't met my good friend Mr. Eraser here," Isha teased. "Mr. Eraser, meet Maressa Hiwatari. Maressa, meet Mr. Eraser." Maressa looked at her, unimpressed. Tala and Kai shared looks of amusement. Isha grinned. "K, I'll shut up now."

"You know, it makes me wonder how Aryan ever dealt with you for so many years," Maressa commented. Isha glanced up and grinned.

"Trust me, my dad asked him that so many times. Now, we all just burst out laughing. Sometimes when Aryan's in a pissed mood, it's so hilarious to push his buttons," she said grinning mischievously. Maressa shook her head and grinned despite what just happened.

"Who the hell is Aryan?" Kai asked all of a sudden after Tala threw him a warning look. Isha looked up and narrowed her eyes.

"None of your business," she snapped. She rolled her eyes and looked back to her paper. Maressa shook her head and looked at Tala.

"Do you have any idea how to take a proper picture?" Tala looked up from his sketch and nodded slowly. "I hate to ask you but, wanna teach me?" The redhead stared at her unblinking and then shook his head.

"Not a chance," he replied. Maressa narrowed her eyes at him.

"Fine, if we fail…don't blame me," she snapped. Tala shrugged uncaringly as Isha peered at her friend, giving her an odd look.

"You don't know how to take a picture?" She asked giving her a blank look.

"No." Isha covered her mouth with her hands and her body started shaking. Her face went red and a moment later she sniffed loudly. She stopped laughing and grinned. "I'm sorry but what century are you living in?" Maressa pouted.

"Well, I would have known if a certain someone had taught me," she said, glaring at Kai.

"Don't blame me 'cuz you didn't have the capability to understand," he said shrugging his shoulders. Tala sniggered at the thought.

"And here we thought you were smart," he added.

"Seriously though, I teach her how to do something and she breaks it the next minute," Kai said shaking his head. Maressa did the only mature thing she could think of: she stuck her tongue out at him.

**-O-**

"Mandisa! Atleast have a decent snack before you go!" The red wine eye-colored heard her mom exclaim as she put on her shoes hurriedly.

"No time mom, I promised Sarah I'm going to be there at 5:00 today and I'm late enough as is! See you later!" Giving her mom a quick peck on the cheek, she ran out of her house and down the street to where the Golden Ridge Orphanage was located. As she opened the door, she heard a jingling sound and ignored it. It always happened when someone opened the door.

"Hey Mandisa!" Lil' Jay, a fifteen year old volunteer, waved at her. Mandisa gave a bright smile and waved back.

"Hey Jay! What's up?" Jay used to be an orphan but when he turned 7, he was adopted by another family. Though sometimes, adopted children forgot the orphanage, Jay had refused to give it up. It had treated him like family and you never abandon your family. He started volunteering there as soon as he turned 12 and had been doing so since then.

"Nothing…Sarah's pretty mad 'cuz you were supposed to come in 20 minutes ago. And the kids are getting restless, you know," he said pointing to the playground in the backyard. Mandisa cursed lightly under her breath and waved goodbye to Jay. Mandisa sighed and went to Sarah's office.

Sarah had always loved children and perhaps that's why she worked in an orphanage. She was 25 but when it came to children, you could see the amazing transformation. She would act like she was their age. Sarah had a short temper and Mandisa had seen it when things didn't go her way. But when it comes to small kids, the temper was forgotten and she would act as though she was their sole savior. It was rather cute.

Mandisa knocked on Sarah's door lightly and then opened it, peeking inside. Sarah was typing something on the computer. Mandisa walked in and gave her a sheepish smile, only to be greeted by two firm and stern words: "You're late."

"I know, I know. It was my first day at school and I got on the wrong bus when I came home. Took me an hour to get back on the right one," she admitted. Sarah allowed a small smirk on her firm features. Mandisa quickly signed in and ran out the room and to the back. Bright sunlight hit and her eyes and she blinked a couple of times before walking again. She neared the slide where about 5-10 kids (between the ages of 4 and 7) were playing around. One of them, Lise, noticed her and ran to her. Looking at Mandisa through her deep sea green eyes, she poked her in the leg and Mandisa looked down, smiling.

"You're late!" Lise accused. Mandisa dropped to the ground and put her hands on her ears playfully.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I got lost today!" Lise clamped her hand on her mouth and gasped.

"Really?" Mandisa nodded.

"But I'm okay now. So forgive me?" Lise nodded vigorously and Mandisa smiled softly. The other kids slowly came up. Like Lise, some were mad but as they heard her story, they forgave her easily. After eating their snacks and juices, Mandisa got them ready to go to the park.

**-O-**

Brooklyn closed his books with a huff and ran his hand through his hair. Damn, Calculus was _hard_. He checked the clock for the time. 6:00 pm. There was still time till dinner and his mom wouldn't be back till 8. Debating between going to the park and watching T.V., he decided on the former. Grabbing his gray spring jacket, he locked the door and walked to the park. Breathing in the fresh air, Brooklyn closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. Somehow, he felt new. Like someone had recharged him. It felt like it was now that he had truly started living. _Unusual feeling_, he decided. Putting it at the back of his mind for now, he entered the park and walked around.

As time went by, Brooklyn felt tired and decided to sit down. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard loud laughing and giggling noises. Deciding to check them out, he walked around the bushes and came upon the mini-playground that the park had built. A smile made its way on his face when he saw the sight before him. Little kids were running around laughing and playing on monkey bars and whatnot. His eyes scanned the playground and saw a girl about his age grinning ear-to-ear as a little redhead talked to her, animatedly. Noticing a bench near there, he sat on it and stared at the happy scene. How he wished he could back in time and live in his childhood again. The red haired girl moved her gaze and saw him. Grinning, she waved at him and he waved back. The girl beside her scrunched up her eyebrows and looked at him, trying to recognize him. When she couldn't, she whispered in her friend's ear; got up and started walking towards him. She stopped right in front of him, giving him a confused look.

"Hey, err…do I know you?" She asked uncertainly.

"No. I'm Brooklyn Kingston," he introduced, offering his right hand. Mandisa shook her hand with his and then let go.

"I'm Mandisa Mahina. Sorry, I was just surprised when I saw you staring at us like that." Brooklyn shrugged uncaringly.

"It's alright. I heard giggling and decided to check it out. I'm afraid to ask," he said looking to all those children. "Are they your siblings?"

Mandisa looked at him weirdly for a moment and then burst out laughing. Taking support of the bench, she laughed even harder. Seeing Brooklyn's face, she covered her mouth with her hand and slowly stopped. "Sorry, no offence but if I had that many brothers and sisters, I'd go insane. I work part-time at the Golden Ridge Orphanage. I promised the kids that I'd bring them to the park today." Brooklyn nodded in understanding.

"You live around here?" Mandisa nodded.

"Nearby. I go to NACI. What about you?"

"Same. Oh, you're the new girl right?" Mandisa nodded hesitantly, unsure of what he was talking about.

"Maressa? You met her right?" Mandisa nodded. "She's one of my best friends. She told me."

"Oh…no wonder. Maressa's in my art class."

"I took art last year. I learnt something new," Brooklyn said, looking at her.

"What's that?"

"That I can't draw for my life." At this, Mandisa burst out laughing. As time went by, they talked and soon it got dark. Mandisa got up quickly and he got up as well.

"I got to go. I still have to drop them off at the orphanage. See you in school tomorrow, ok?" Mandisa said, giving him a friendly smile. Brooklyn nodded and she walked away. As he stared at her walking away, he smiled and looked at the sky. _This is going be an interesting year_, he said to himself before going his way.

**-O-**

Surprisingly, Isha and Kai had gotten some work done. As did Tala and Maressa. As they headed out of the library, Tala got an idea.

"Hey, Hiwatari, I wanna talk to you about something. Come with me, I'll drop you off at your house." Maressa looked at him weirdly and shook her head.

"We can talk at school."

"No, it's important. We have to talk now," the redhead said firmly. Maressa kept on shaking her head. Kai, catching on to what he was saying, nodded his head.

"Maressa, go."

"I don't have to listen to you." Isha nodded firmly. Maressa was about to add something but looking at her brother and Tala's face, she fell silent. She narrowed her eyes at the redhead and sighed. "Fine."

"What? I'm coming too then!" Isha exclaimed. Kai shook his head. "And why the hell not?"

"Because I need to talk to her and he probably needs to talk to you about your project," Tala intervened.

"We can talk tomorrow and it's not like you guys are on some secret mission that no one can find out about the project you're doing," Isha defended. Maressa hissed and rubbed her temples with her hands.

"Look, it's no use arguing, okay? I'm getting a headache from this bullshit." She turned to her friend. "Isha, it's just for one day, okay? You're not going to die and if you die, don't worry, I'll avenge you some way. The sooner I get home, the better. Please?" Isha nodded reluctantly. Kai smirked in his head and made a mental note to thank his sister somehow. …Yeah right.

The two couples (if you could call them that) went their separate ways. Isha walked huffily to Kai's car and the stoic blader followed close by. Taking out his car keys, he pushed the unlock button. Isha opened the door and got in, refusing to look at Kai. Tugging on the seatbelt, she put that on and crossed her hands in front of her chest. Kai's lips twitched in amusement as he looked at her. She looked like a little baby who just lost her favorite candy. It was quite amusing. He started the car and then drove away. Isha on the other hand, was feeling grumpy. How could her best friend just ditch her and since did she actually listen to what Valkov and Hiwatari said? She let out an angry 'hmph' and looked out of the window. The last thing she wanted to do was to look at him. _I can't believe he's driving me home_, she thought angrily. What could Valkov possible want to discuss with Maressa so badly that he couldn't do it tomorrow? Kai glanced at her.

"You know, you look like a lost baby," he informed. Her gaze snapped to him and he was met by a heated glare. "Hey, it's a compliment, you know." She gave him a blank look. "Babies are cute."

"Shut up. Why are you being nice to me anyways?" She grumbled. Kai shrugged.

"We're gonna be working together for six weeks. Might as well make something out of it. What say? Truce?" Isha snorted.

"Dream on."

"You wanna get a good mark on this?" He snapped. He tried being nice. It didn't work.

"So? What's your point?"

"Look, we're stuck doing this whether you like it or not. Riley isn't going to change our partners so deal with it," Kai said firmly. The raven haired girl shrugged and then sighed.

"Fine. But on one condition."

"Shoot."

"Apologize to me and say you were being mean and that you're sorry," she said simply. Kai snorted.

"I was mean? Who was the one that was being a frigid bitch on the first day?" Isha narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who was that one saying I want you?" She retorted. "Apologize and I'll even forgive you for calling me a frigid bitch just now."

"Shrew." That told Isha all about what he thought about her condition. Thankfully, her house was just about to come in 2 minutes.

"Bastard."

"Freak."

"Loser."

"Oh, how original!" He mocked. Isha glared at him, angrily and got out of the car for they had reached her house. However instead of stopping the car in front of her house, he drove it to his and parked it in the garage. By now, Isha was fuming. She stomped out of the car and was about to walk to her house when she heard him say something. "That's right, run away you little pussy." He mocked even more. She stomped back to him.

"What did you call me?"

"Pussy." At this, Isha could hold it no longer in her. Before Kai knew what was happening, he was looking at the ground with his right cheek stinging like hell. The little witch had slapped him! Isha clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes at him. That was it. She had to do it.

"I was right. You could never be nice even if your life depended on it." With that said, she walked away, never looking back. Kai rubbed his cheek gently with his hand, cursing violently. How could he have been so stupid? How was he supposed to fulfill his part of the bet with that witch? He kept on forgetting that she was different from the girls at school. She slapped him _and_ Michael. As he walked to his room, his mind wandered off to when The Scorpions had challenged him into the bet.

**-Flashback-**

"Bet you couldn't do it," Johnny taunted as him, Ray, and Michael neared. They had seen what happened with Kai and Isha while they were at her locker. Kai opened his eyes and looked challengingly at the Scottish boy. Tala smirked delightfully. He knew what was coming.

"Says who?" Kai asked coolly.

"She shot you down, man!" Michael pointed out.

"Is that a bet I smell?" Ray intervened.

"Hell yeah," Johnny assured. "Kai, that little spitfire has to be yours by the Christmas holidays. New Year's Day is the last day. What do you say?" Kai looked at his four friends.

"Three words: bring it on." He smirked maliciously and looked off to where his victim has gone. "What do I get out of this?"

"We'll discuss the wages later," Tala said. "She is feisty so your chances of getting her are slim. The stakes have to be higher in this case." The other three nodded.

"Get her; make her fall in love with you _hard_; and break her," Michael said. "Quite simple and we don't care how you do it."

"Bed her, don't bed her, do anything," Tala added. "It's up to you." Kai nodded thoughtfully. The bell rung and he got up and walked away, thinking. The four Scorpions looked at each other and smirked.

"100 bucks says he can't do it," Michael said.

"Same." Ray and Johnny agreed.

"200 bucks says he'll do it," Tala said. The other three looked at him, eyebrows raised. They shrugged and all of them walked away in their own direction.

**-End Flashback-**

Kai turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He had agreed to the bet and the holidays were approaching fast. He had better get his game together if he wanted to win. There was no going back.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
